Streets in the gambling center of Macao were empty Monday after casinos and most other businesses were ordered to close while the Chinese territory near Hong Kong fights a coronavirus outbreak.
Residents were told to stay indoors unless they were buying food or other necessities. Authorities warned anyone violating the rules would be punished.
Casinos were ordered over the weekend to close for at least a week as the number of coronavirus cases in the territory of 700,000 people rose. On Monday, the government reported 59 new cases, bringing the total in the latest outbreak to 1,526.
Macao and Hong Kong are imitating the mainland’s “zero COVID” strategy that aims to isolated every infected person.
Casino gambling is the mainstay of Macao’s economy but it has been devastated by anti-virus travel restrictions.
This week’s order marks the first time since early 2020 at the start of the pandemic that casinos were closed outright, reflecting official urgency about containing the latest outbreak. Restrictions imposed in June limited their workforce to 10% of normal levels.
The government says it plans to test everyone in the city for the virus over the coming week. Bus drivers, people who deliver food and some others were told to be tested every day.
The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States.
Scientists say the variant – called BA.2.75 – may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It’s unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than other omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5.
“It’s still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “But it does look like, especially in India, the rates of transmission are showing kind of that exponential increase.” Whether it will outcompete BA.5, he said, is yet to be determined.
Still, the fact that it has already been detected in many parts of the world even with lower levels of viral surveillance “is an early indication it is spreading,” said Shishi Luo, head of infectious diseases for Helix, a company that supplies viral sequencing information to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest mutant has been spotted in several distant states in India, and appears to be spreading faster than other variants there, said Lipi Thukral, a scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi. It’s also been detected in about 10 other countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. Two cases were recently identified on the West Coast of the U.S., and Helix identified a third U.S. case last week.
Fueling experts’ concerns are a large number of mutations separating this new variant from omicron predecessors. Some of those mutations are in areas that relate to the spike protein and could allow the virus to bind onto cells more efficiently, Binnicker said.
Another concern is that the genetic tweaks may make it easier for the virus to skirt past antibodies — protective proteins made by the body in response to a vaccine or infection from an earlier variant.
But experts say vaccines and boosters are still the best defense against severe COVID-19. In the fall it’s likely the U.S. will see updated formulations of the vaccine being developed that target more recent omicron strains.
“Some may say, ‘Well, vaccination and boosting hasn’t prevented people from getting infected.’ And, yes, that is true,” he said. “But what we have seen is that the rates of people ending up in the hospital and dying have significantly decreased. As more people have been vaccinated, boosted or naturally infected, we are starting to see the background levels of immunity worldwide creep up.”
It may take several weeks to get a sense of whether the latest omicron mutant may affect the trajectory of the pandemic. Meanwhile Dr. Gagandeep Kang, who studies viruses at India’s Christian Medical College in Vellore, said the growing concern over the variant underlines the need for more sustained efforts to track and trace viruses that combine genetic efforts with real world information about who is getting sick and how badly. “It is important that surveillance isn’t a start-stop strategy,” she said.
Luo said BA.2.75 is another reminder that the coronavirus is continually evolving – and spreading.
“We would like to return to pre-pandemic life, but we still need to be careful,” she said. “ We need to accept that we’re now living with a higher level of risk than we used to.”
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Ghosal reported from New Delhi. Ungar reported from Louisville, Kentucky.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Nearly 300,000 children under 5 have received COVID-19 shots in the two weeks since they became available, a slower pace than for older groups. But the White House says that was expected for the eligible U.S. population of about 18 million kids.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was to publish initial data on shots for the age group later Thursday, reflecting doses administered since regulators authorized them on June 18. The first vaccinations didn’t begin until several days later because the doses had to be shipped to doctors’ offices and pharmacies.
U.S. officials had long predicted that the pace of vaccinating the youngest kids would be slower than for older groups. They expect most shots to take place at pediatricians’ offices.
Many parents may be more comfortable getting the vaccine for their kids at their regular doctors, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told The Associated Press last month. He predicted the pace of vaccination would be far slower than it was for older populations.
“We’re going see vaccinations ramp up over weeks and even potentially over a couple of months,” Jha said.
Officials also note there is some hesitance about the need for shots for kids who are far less likely than older age groups to develop serious illness or die from the coronavirus. Parents are being encouraged to talk to the child’s doctor for trusted information about the benefits of the vaccines.
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted in April found that 1 in 5 parents of children under age 5 said they would get their child vaccinated right away once it was authorized, 38% said they would wait and see, and nearly 4 in 10 said they wouldn’t get their children vaccinated at all or only if required.
More than 5 million pediatric doses have been shipped to more than 15,000 locations, the White House said, ready for parents and kids to come in.
Still, the roll-out hasn’t been without hiccups for some parents of babies and toddlers, because of state restrictions on pharmacies and because some doctors are not offering the shots.
Many states bar pharmacies from vaccinating children under 3 years old or require prescriptions for them to do so. In other cases, pharmacies have inadequate staff, space or training to give the shots correctly to the youngest, said Allie Jo Shipman, director of state policy for the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations.
“It’s just a more complex situation than it is with your older children and adults,” Shipman said.
Some doctors opted not to offer the shots because of cold storage requirements or concern about wasting doses. The vaccine comes in multi-dose vials that must be used within 12 hours after opening.
“They don’t want to see vaccine go unused,” said West Virginia pediatrician Dr. Lisa Costello, who is working with her state’s COVID-19 response task force. “You either need to find the number of people to vaccinate for that vial or discard the doses that are left over.”
Organizing vaccine times after hours or clustering vaccine appointments are possible solutions doctors are trying, Costello said. And West Virginia has encouraged doctors to go ahead and open the vials even if they have only one patient to vaccinate, she said.
For older children, those 5 to 11 years old, vaccine coverage has varied widely from state to state, from a low of 11% of that age group fully vaccinated in Alabama to 63% in Vermont, according to an analysis of vaccination data through June 29 by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Of the top 10 states for vaccination coverage in the 5 to 11 age group, five are in New England. Of the bottom 10 states, nine are in the South.
The Biden administration said that while the slow pace of vaccination in the youngest group was expected, officials won’t be satisfied until as many people as possible receive the protection of vaccines. Parents can use vaccines.gov to search for vaccine providers by location, vaccine brand and age groups vaccinated.
Total Doses Distributed = 774,307,105. Total Doses Administered = 597,655,035. Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses = 260,327,743. Number of People Fully Vaccinated = 222,455,652.
The Chinese capital has issued a mandate requiring people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they can enter some public spaces including gyms, museums and libraries, with exceptions only available to those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons.
The health app that shows a person’s latest PCR test results has been updated to make it easier to access their vaccination status, according to Li Ang, a spokesperson at Beijing’s municipal health commission.
The list of public places requiring vaccination does not include restaurants and offices. The mandate will go into effect on Monday.
“In the normalization of COVID-19 pandemic controls, getting vaccinated is still the most effective measure at controlling the spread of COVID-19,” Li said in an announcement on Wednesday.
More than 23 million people in Beijing have been vaccinated, Li said, which if accurate would cover the city’s entire population and more. A 2020 census found that Beijing was home to some 22 million long-term residents. It is unclear what makes up the discrepancy in the numbers. The Beijing government did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment on the new measures.
Li said that more than 3.6 million people over 60 years old have been vaccinated. He did not say if they received two shots or three.
A vaccine mandate is not unusual and some major cities in the U.S. required proof of vaccination for entry into restaurants and bars at some point during the pandemic.
However, those mandates did not include spaces like libraries. Few places in the U.S. now actively require proof of vaccination to enter. Most U.S. cities have also rolled back social distancing measures that were implemented in the first year of the pandemic. Certain spaces, like hospitals, still mandate proof of vaccination.
In Beijing and other cities across China, many government facilities already require people to show proof of vaccination before entry.
Online, the announcement drew some anger and pointed questions. Social media users questioned how to obtain a certificate showing one was unsuitable for vaccination, whether the unvaccinated could ride the subway and other logistics of the new requirement.
Chen Yumei, a 48-year-old Beijing resident, said she hasn’t been vaccinated yet because she suffered from hives that doctors had said made her unsuitable.
“A lot of doctors told me I couldn’t, but who’s going to give me the certification for an exception? No one dares to give you this certification,” she said.
“Something like this is too unreasonable,” Chen said. “We’ve already been cooperating with the PCR tests, no matter how hot it is or how long the line is.”
Another Beijing resident, Leo Zhang, said he was confused whether the new policy meant he needed to get a booster or if two doses were enough. He is planning to get a booster shot as a result.
“At least for me, it doesn’t have a big impact, it’s just getting a booster,” said Zhang, who regularly visits the gym.
Others on social media shared an article from last year from Xinhua, an official state media outlet, that quoted National Health Commission officials forbidding local governments from putting forward policies that prevent people from entering places like supermarkets without proof of vaccination.
It is unclear how Beijing’s new directive will be implemented given the national policy. Additional requirements are already in effect for medical workers, delivery workers and public transportation employees, who are all required to be fully vaccinated.
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Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen and researcher Yu Bing contributed to this report from Beijing.
Pharmacists can prescribe the leading COVID-19 pill directly to patients under a new U.S. policy announced Wednesday that’s intended to expand use of Pfizer’s drug Paxlovid.
The Food and Drug Administration said pharmacists can begin screening patients to see if they are eligible for Paxlovid and then prescribe the medication, which has been shown to curb the worst effects of COVID-19. Previously only physicians could prescribe the antiviral drug.
The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising again, though they remain near their lowest levels since the coronavirus outbreak began in 2020.
Biden administration officials have expressed frustration that several hundred Americans continue to die of COVID-19 daily, despite the availability of vaccines and treatments.
Administration officials have been working for months to increase access to Paxlovid, opening thousands of sites where patients who test positive can fill a prescription for Paxlovid. The FDA change will make thousands more pharmacies eligible to quickly prescribe and dispense the pill, which must be used early to be effective.
“Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment,” said FDA drug center director Patrizia Cavazzoni
Still, use could be limited by paperwork requirements. Patients are expected to bring their recent health records— including blood tests — and a list of their current medications so pharmacists can check that Paxlovid won’t negatively interact with other drugs. As an alternative, pharmacists can consult with the patient’s doctor.
Paxlovid is intended for people with COVID-19 who are more likely to become seriously ill. That includes older people and those with other health issues like heart disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes that make them more vulnerable.
The FDA authorized Paxlovid last December based on results showing it reduced hospitalizations and deaths by nearly 90% among unvaccinated patients most likely to get severe disease. The drug has shown less impressive results in patients who already have vaccine protection and some physicians have reported cases of COVID-19 symptoms returning after treatment with the drug.
Expanding the test-and-treat program to include pharmacists could add thousands of additional options for patients. The two biggest U.S. drugstore chains — CVS Health and Walgreens — run around 19,000 locations combined.
CVS Health already provides COVID-19 care at 1,100 clinic locations inside drugstores.
There also are nearly 19,400 independent pharmacies not tied to a big chain, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.
Pharmacist Michele Belcher said ahead of the announcement that she hoped to be able to test customers for COVID-19 and offer the pill because there is a shortage of primary care doctors in her community, the small, southwestern Oregon city of Grants Pass.
Belcher said she worries that some people may have a hard time getting a doctor’s appointment for a prescription during the narrow window to start the pill.
Belcher, owner of the independent Grants Pass Pharmacy, said she used to test and treat for COVID-19 using injectable drugs that are no longer as effective.
Her pharmacy routinely checks for potentially harmful interactions with other drugs a patient may be taking, she said.
“Pharmacists are the drug experts,” she said. “That’s something we do every day, all day, make sure there are no interactions with any medications.”
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Murphy reported from Indianapolis.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
